Polish sprint stars delivered home success, Germany bounced back in style and Paracanoe returned with an absorbing few days of top-class racing.
It is no doubt the International Canoe Federation Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe World Cup in Poznan, Poland will live long in the memory for flatwater fans.
Looking back at the past four days of competition, the ICF picks out five things we learned from the jam-packed programme in the Polish city.
Lift off for Yemelianov as Paracanoe returns
“I’m back” was the message when Serhii Yemelianov came off the water.
After three years and nine months away from the sport, Yemelianov returned to the international scene.
It was the moment the double Paralympic champion had been waiting for and one he was not going to waste.
Now competing for Georgia after switching allegiances from Ukraine, Yemelianov produced a brilliant performance to clinch men’s KL3 gold.
Click here for all the results from Poznan
It was also a long-awaited return for the other Paracanoe paddlers with the last international event coming in September 2024 when Paris hosted the Paralympic Games.
Great Britain’s Charlotte Henshaw powered to victory in the women’s KL2, Ukraine’s Vladyslav Yepifanov won the men’s VL3 title and Great Britain’s Laura Sugar sealed top spot in the women’s KL3 but they were the only events that went the same way as the Paris Games.
With no Emma Wiggs of Great Britain and Curtis McGrath of Australia, Canada’s Brianna Hennessy and Great Britain’s David Phillipson seized their moment to capture the respective women’s VL2 and men’s VL2 titles.
Other Paralympic champions were beaten with Henshaw losing to compatriot Hope Gordon in the women’s VL3, Fernando Rufino de Paulo finishing second to good friend and fellow Brazilian Igor Alex Tofalini, Chile’s Katherinne Wollermann coming unstuck against Ukraine’s Maryna Mazhula in the women’s KL1 and Hungary’s Peter Kiss being defeated by Brazil’s Luis Carlos Cardoso Da Silva in the men’s KL1.
Pulawska in pole position for Milan
Pressure? What pressure? Poland’s Anna Pulawska insisted she didn’t feel any pressure and only felt “power” from the fans that watched on in Poznan.
Once she got motoring, there was no stopping Pulawska as she stormed to the women’s K1 500m title.
After winning over 200m and 500m this season, Pulawska is clearly in red hot form and will be the paddler to beat at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Milan later this year.
With the legendary Lisa Carrington of New Zealand opting to sit out this year and instead tune in to the live coverage on the Planet Canoe YouTube channel, Pulawska has become the new favourite for the women’s K1 500m crown.
New Zealand’s Aimee Fisher and Dutch paddler Selma Konijn will be among those aiming to stop Pulawska.
Another Polish athlete who starred at home this weekend was Oleksii Koliadych who will be seeking a third world title in the men’s C1 200m after victories in 2022 and 2024.
Schopf and Lemke are kings of K2
It was only 12 months ago when Jacob Schopf and Max Lemke competed together for the first time on the global stage in the men’s kayak double 500m.
A year on and at the same venue, the German duo demonstrated how much of a formidable partnership they have become.
Schopf and Lemke secured the Olympic crown in Paris and on Sunday they ensured they remain the top dogs in the K2 boat.
Czechia’s Jakub Spicar and Daniel Havel came agonisingly close to taking the title but Schopf and Lemke triumphed by a mere 0.13.
It was not the only gold Schopf and Lemke won in Poznan as they helped Germany clinch the men’s kayak four 500m title.
After seeing their long unbeaten run come to an end in Szeged following defeat to Hungary, Schopf, Lemke and co. gained revenge with victory in the Polish city.
Germany enjoyed a stellar weekend as their women’s K4 team captured gold before Nico Pickert and Conrad-Robin Scheibner sealed the men’s canoe double 500m title with a stunning performance from lane nine.
Kiss and Nagy are new golden girls
After two World Cups, Agnes Anna Kiss and Bianka Nagy have accumulated 10 gold medals between them.
In six events competed together in 2025, they have won five of them.
Only a silver medal in the women’s C2 200m in Szeged denies the Hungarian pairing a clean sweep.
They secured two golds on home waters in Szeged before completing a hat-trick of titles in Poznan.
After triumphing over 200m and 500m in the C2, Kiss and Nagy joined Reka Opavszky and Zsofia Katalin Csorba to earn women’s canoe four 500m gold.
The women’s C2 500m has been dominated by Mengya Sun and Shixiao Xu over the years, with the Chinese two-time Olympic champions yet to be beaten.
With only Sun arriving in Europe and forming a new partnership with Yanan Ma, Kiss and Nagy have seized their chance to take top spot in back-to-back World Cups.
Boosted by these victories, Kiss and Nagy will be hard to stop when they arrive in Milan for the World Championships.
Hungary showing 5k prowess but Mads still rules
As well as the success of golden girls Kiss and Nagy, Hungary won several other titles to finish top of the medals table for the second successive World Cup.
Adam Varga and Balint Kopasz won back-to-back gold medals in the respective men’s K1 500m and men’s K1 1000m, while the Hungarian team demonstrated their abilities over 5000m.
Csorba and Balazs Adolf showed their skills in the canoe before Zsoka Csikos eased to victory in the kayak.
For Csorba, it was back-to-back titles, with both of those 5000m races won in contrasting weather conditions.
After overcoming storms in Szeged, Csorba then had to handle the heat in Poznan to make it two wins from two.
The victory helped Hungary finish with eight gold medals – double the amount achieved by second-placed Germany.
Hungary’s hopes of winning all four golds in the 5000m events were dashed as soon as Denmark’s Mads Brandt Pedersen hit the front.
Pedersen, the two-time world champion in the men’s K1 5000m, never looked flustered as he forged ahead before winning in emphatic fashion to underline his dominance.
Full coverage of the ICF Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe World Cups can be viewed on the Planet Canoe YouTube channel.
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